History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]
-
Source Note
JS, History, 1838–1856, vol. A-1, created 11 June 1839–24 Aug. 1843; handwriting of , , , and ; 553 pages, plus 16 pages of addenda; CHL. This is the first volume of a six-volume manuscript history of the church. This first volume covers the period from 23 December 1805 to 30 August 1834; the remaining five volumes, labeled B-1 through F-1, continue through 8 August 1844.
-
Historical Introduction
This document, “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1, [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” is the first of the six volumes of the “Manuscript History of the Church” (in The Joseph Smith Papers it bears the editorial title “History, 1838-1856”). The completed six-volume collection covers the period from 23 December 1805–8 August 1844. Volume A-1 encompasses the period from JS’s birth in 1805 to 30 August 1834, just after the return of the Camp of Israel (later known as Zion’s Camp) from to , Ohio. For a fuller discussion of the entire six-volume work, see the general introduction to the history.In April 1838, with the aid of his counselor , JS renewed his efforts to draft a “history”. served as scribe. JS’s journal for late April and early May 1838 notes six days on which JS, Rigdon, and Robinson were engaged in “writing history.” Though not completed and no longer extant, that draft laid the foundation for what became the six-volume manuscript eventually published as the “History of Joseph Smith,” and at least a portion of its contents are assumed to have been included in the manuscript presented here.On 11 June 1839 in , Illinois, JS once again began dictating his “history.” now served as scribe. Apparently the narrative commenced where the earlier 1838 draft left off. When work was interrupted in July 1839, Mulholland inscribed the draft material, including at least some of ’s earlier material, into a large record book already containing the text of an incomplete history previously produced over a span of two years, 1834–1836. For the new history, Mulholland simply turned the ledger over and began at the back of the book. The volume was later labeled A-1 on its spine, identifying it as the first of multiple volumes of the manuscript history.Prior to his untimely death on 3 November 1839, recorded the first fifty-nine pages in the volume. Subsequently, his successor, , contributed about sixteen more pages before his death in August 1841. then added a little over seventy-five pages. However, substantial progress on the history was not made until December 1842 when assumed responsibility for the compilation and was appointed JS’s “private secretary and historian.” Richards would contribute the remainder of the text inscribed in the 553-page first volume. The narrative recorded in A-1 was completed in August 1843. and Charles Wandell subsequently added sixteen pages of “Addenda” material, which provided notes, extensive revisions, or additional text to be inserted in the original manuscript where indicated. For instance, several of the addenda expanded on the account of the Camp of Israel as initially recorded.JS dictated or supplied information for much of A-1, and he personally corrected the first forty-two pages before his death. As planned, his historian-scribes maintained the first-person, chronological narrative format initially established in the volume. When various third-person accounts were drawn upon, they were generally converted to the first person, as if JS were directly relating the account. After JS’s death, , , , and others modified and corrected the manuscript as they reviewed material before its eventual publication.Beginning in March 1842 the church’s Nauvoo periodical, the Times and Seasons, began publishing the narrative as the “History of Joseph Smith.” At the time of JS’s death only the history through December 1831 had been published. When the final issue of the Times and Seasons, dated 15 February 1846 appeared, the account had been carried forward through August 1834—the end of the material recorded in A-1. The “History of Joseph Smith” was also published in in the church periodical the Millennial Star beginning in June 1842. Once a press was established in Utah and the Deseret News began publication, the “History of Joseph Smith” once more appeared in print in serialized form. Beginning with the November 1851 issue, the narrative picked up where the Times and Seasons had left off over five years earlier.Aside from the material dictated or supplied by JS prior to his death, the texts for A-1 and for the history’s subsequent volumes were drawn from a variety of primary and secondary sources including JS’s diaries and letters, minutes of meetings, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, church and other periodicals, reports of JS’s discourses, and the reminiscences and recollections of church members. The narrative in A-1 provides JS’s personal account of the foundational events of his life as a prophet and the early progress of the church. It also encompasses contentions and disputations that erupted between the Latter-day Saints and their neighbors in , , , and . While it remains difficult to distinguish JS’s own contributions from composition of his historian-scribes, the narrative trenchantly captures the poignancy and intensity of his life while offering an enlightening account of the birth of the church he labored to establish.

17 Feb. 1792–7 Mar. 1872. Writer, teacher, printer, newspaper editor, publisher, postmaster, lawyer. Born at Hanover, Morris Co., New Jersey. Son of Enon Phelps and Mehitabel Goldsmith. Moved to Homer, Cortland Co., New York, 1800. Married Sally Waterman,...
View Full BioJS, Journal, 26–28 Feb. 1834.
JS, Journal, 1–2 Mar. 1834.
12 Apr. 1807–13 May 1857. Farmer, editor, publisher, teacher, school administrator, legislator, explorer, author. Born at Burlington, Otsego Co., New York. Son of Jared Pratt and Charity Dickinson. Traveled west with brother William to acquire land, 1823....
View Full BioJS, Journal, 3 Mar. 1834.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
More InfoJS, Journal, 4–6 Mar. 1834.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...
More InfoLocated about sixteen miles northeast of Kirtland, Ohio. Settled 1800. Surveyed 1809. Incorporated 1817. Population in 1830 about 700. Population in 1840 about 1,000. Latter-day Saints from Colesville, New York, were directed to settle in area on 759 acres...
More InfoSettled 1796. Incorporated 1800. Population in 1830 about 1,500. Population in 1840 about 2,300. Latter-day Saint missionaries passed through area when traveling between Ohio and New York. JS traveled through Springfield on missions, 1833 and 1834. Branch...
More InfoSettled 1797. Incorporated 1800. Population in 1830 about 560. Population in 1840 about 1,600. Situated on Elk Creek. Included Elk Creek post office. JS traveled through township during missions, 1833 and 1834. Branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day...
More InfoFormed 1829. Population in 1830 about 2,500. Population in 1835 about 3,000. Included Westfield village; settled 1800; incorporated Apr. 1833. Westfield branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had about seventy-five members, 1835. Latter-day...
More InfoVillage with about 40 domiciles, 1836. Population in 1842 about 400.
More InfoLocated at mouth of Silver Creek (or Steer Creek) on Lake Erie, in northwest corner of Hanover Township. Incorporated as village, 1848.
More InfoAlso spelled Perrysburgh. Located in northwestern New York state, about six miles southeast of Lake Erie. Created 1814; first known as Perry Township. Name changed to Perrysburg, 1818. Population in 1830 about 2,400. Branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter...
More InfoArea settled, 1803. Township formed, 19 Mar. 1808. Population in 1830 about 2,500. Population in 1840 about 2,800. Included Warsaw village; county seat, after 1841; population in 1840 about 400. Reynolds Cahoon and David W. Patten assigned to travel to area...
More InfoAgricultural area twenty-five miles west of Canandaigua. Incorporated as village, 1832. Population in 1840 about 900. While recruiting for Camp of Israel, JS and Sidney Rigdon preached to large congregation at conference in village, 16 Mar. 1834. Geneseo ...
More InfoAlso spelled Centerville. First settled, 1808. Included Centreville post office and settlement. Population in 1830 about 1,200. Population in 1840 about 1,500.
More InfoArea settled, 1794. Formed from Sempronius, Marcellus, and Tully townships, 1811. Population in 1830 about 2,600; in 1835 about 2,400; and in 1840 about 1,900. Included Spafford village. Size of township decreased when land was taken for other townships, ...
More InfoFormed 1829. Population in 1830 about 2,500. Population in 1835 about 3,000. Included Westfield village; settled 1800; incorporated Apr. 1833. Westfield branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had about seventy-five members, 1835. Latter-day...
More InfoFormed 1829. Population in 1830 about 2,500. Population in 1835 about 3,000. Included Westfield village; settled 1800; incorporated Apr. 1833. Westfield branch of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had about seventy-five members, 1835. Latter-day...
More InfoA male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...
View Glossary21 Dec. 1784–25 June 1855. Pastor, farmer. Born in New Hampshire. Married first Oliva Swanson of Massachusetts. Resided at Portsmouth, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire, 1808. Lived in Vermont. Moved to northern Pennsylvania, 1817. Served as minister in Freewill...
View Full BioAlso spelled Villenova. Located in southwest corner of state. Settled by 1810. Taken from Hanover Township, Jan. 1823. Population in 1830 about 1,100; in 1835 about 1,500; and in 1840 about 1,700. While recruiting Camp of Israel volunteers, JS and Parley ...
More Info16 June 1803–26 Feb. 1891. Farmer. Born at Chester, Washington Co., New York. Son of Daniel McBride and Abigail Mead. Married Mary Ann Anderson, 16 June 1833. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 Mar. 1834, at Villanova, Chautauque...
View Full Bio5 Feb. 1779–22 Jan. 1847. Seaman. Born at South Dennis, Barnstable Co., Massachusetts. Son of Eleazer Nickerson and Thankful Chase. Moved to Cavendish, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1800. Married Huldah Chapman, 19 Jan. 1801, at Cavendish. Served as officer in Vermont...
View Full BioThe Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...
View GlossaryA group of approximately 205 men and about 20 women and children led by JS to Missouri, May–July 1834, to redeem Zion by helping the Saints who had been driven from Jackson County, Missouri, regain their lands; later referred to as “Zion’s Camp.” A 24 February...
View Glossary